The Crown Jewel

Level-headed Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is increasingly indispensable, as the royal family faces perhaps its toughest time in decades. Her calm, conciliatory approach is soothing fractured royal relationships, says William Langley, as she shoulders an ever-heavier workload and enjoys a new closeness with the Queen.

- William Langley

The choirboys sang, the abbey bells bonged, and for a fleeting, final moment everything was just as it used to be. The “Fab Four” – William, Kate, Harry and Meghan – were back together in the presence of Queen Elizabeth for a service of splendour and pageantry that also provided a timely reminder of the monarchy’s enduring power.

Commonwealth Day, on March 9, is a precious one to the 93-year-old Queen, and she wasn’t going to have it spoiled by any unpleasantness over the decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to give up their official duties. Yet the abrupt departure of Harry and Meghan has forced the royal family to radically rethink its future plans and the roles of its senior members.

The key player in this reshaped order is Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, whose fast-rising profile is only partly down to the void left by the Sussexes. Never showy, and unflappable by nature, Kate has no desire to be a Meghan-style flashbulb magnet, but after almost a decade as William’s wife understands what is required of a queen-in-waiting.

A new, more outgoing and assertive Kate is emerging, buoyed by discreet Buckingham Palace briefings about her readiness to have a bigger public presence. Courtiers who once privately fretted that the 38-year-old commoner was “too bland” for the royal big league, are now full of praise. The signs of change are unmissable – from Kate opening up about her personal life to sporting a new hairdo on a trip to Ireland – and they certainly haven’t been missed by the Queen.